Hutt River is a river in the

Mid West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The river rises east of the

North West Coastal Highway North West Coastal Highway is a generally north-south Western Australian highway which links the coastal city of Geraldton with the town of Port Hedland. The road, constructed as a sealed two-lane single carriageway, travels through remote and ...

, between the towns of

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

and

Binnu Binnu is a town on the North West Coastal Highway in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The name derives from a well on the outskirts of town that was first in use in 1909. The name is Indigenous Australian in origin and is thought to mea ...

. It flows in a westerly direction until reaching Broken Anchor Bay on the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

south-east of

Port Gregory Gregory (Port Gregory until 1967) is a small town and fishing port located northwest of the mouth of the Hutt River, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. At the 2016 census, Gregory had a population of 64 in 83 dwellings. Most of the ...

. The main tributary for the Hutt River is Kennedy Creek. Others are Yarder Gully and Swamp Gully, which are important contributors of fresh water to the river. Under normal flow, the Hutt River runs to the north for less than before breaking through the final

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

and flowing to the sea. Under heavy flow it breaks straight through.

Hutt Lagoon Hutt Lagoon is a marine salt lake located near the Indian Ocean coast north of the mouth of the Hutt River, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Geography Hutt Lagoon is an elongate lake that sits in a dune swale adjacent to the co ...

, north of the river mouth, is a marginal

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

salina. Similar to Lake MacLeod, north of Carnarvon, Hutt Lagoon is fed by marine waters through a barrier ridge and by meteoric waters through springs. Due to the salina's below sea-level position, seepage of seawater into the salina is continuous year round.

History

The first European to discover the river was probably

Francisco Pelsaert Francisco Pelsaert ( – September 1630) was a Dutch merchant who worked for the Dutch East India Company best known for his role as the commander of the . The ship ran aground in the Houtman Abrolhos, off the coastal regions of Western Aust ...

, who hove to in Broken Anchor Bay at the mouth of the Hutt River on 9 June 1629, following the sinking of on the

Houtman Abrolhos The Houtman Abrolhos (often called the Abrolhos Islands) is a chain of 122 islands and associated coral reefs, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia, about west of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the southernmost true coral ...

. He probably returned to the mouth of the Hutt River in on 16 November 1629. His crew explored the area, and two mutineers,

Wouter Loos Wouter Loos was a soldier on board the Dutch East India Company ship , which sank on Morning Reef in the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands off the coast of Western Australia in 1629. Loos had a critical role in the subsequent Batavia Mu ...

and Jan Pelgrom de Bye, appear to have been abandoned here, becoming Australia's first European residents. The first British explorer to encounter Hutt River was Lieutenant

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

on 5 April 1839, naming the river after his friend William Hutt. Hutt was a British Liberal politician who was heavily involved in the colonization of Western Australia, New Zealand and South Australia, and the brother of

John Hutt John Hutt (24 July 1795 – 9 April 1880) was Governor of Western Australia from 1839 to 1846. Life Born in London on 24 July 1795, John Hutt was the fourth of 13 children of Richard Hutt of Appley Towers, Ryde, Isle of Wight. He was educated ...

, the second

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional ...

. Hutt was for a time chairman of the

Western Australian Land Company Australind is a town in Western Australia, located 12 km north-east of Bunbury's central business district. Its local government area is the Shire of Harvey. At the 2016 census, Australind had a population of 14,539. History Prior to E ...

. The next day, Grey named the nearby

Bowes River The Bowes River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was named on 6 April 1839 by the explorer George Grey while on his second exploration expedition along the Western Australian coast. It was named for Mary Bowes, Dowage ...

after Hutt's wife, Mary Bowes. The

Principality of Hutt River The Principality of Hutt River, often referred to by its former name, the Hutt River Province, was a micronation in Australia. The principality claimed to be an independent sovereign state, founded on 21 April 1970. It was dissolved on 3 Augus ...

was a

micronation A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified se ...

located midway along the river. The Principality covered an area of and claimed to be an independent sovereign state that seceded from Australia in 1970 as a result of a dispute over wheat production quotas. It was not recognised by Australian state or federal governments, or any other country. It dissolved in August 2020.

References

{{Rivers of Western Australia Rivers of the Mid West region